Who do you think I am
by Mediamaniac
Summary: Adrien is confused . 'Oh ! And who is the 'amazing guy' who cat-ptured my lady's heart ' 'I'm looking at him '
1. Chapter 1

Adrien lied on his bed trying to make sense of what he had just happened .

.

' _Oh ! And who is the 'amazing guy' who cat-ptured my lady's heart ?'_

 _'I'm looking at him '_

 _._

She didn't mean to let it slip , but she did .

She seemed a bit worried about his reaction , probably thought he was going to make some kinda fuss . But he was just frozen in shock .

He just didn't understand .

Why?

How?

It had a nice night , he was jumping across rooftops , stopped two muggings ( night vision was useful for finding guys who lie in wait in the dark ) and finally and _Definitely_ not least , he just say a flash of red and began to make his way to his lady .

He should have stayed put , ...or even gone home .

Yes , it was that bad .

He caught up to her , they threw around some teasing , had a nice talk when she suddenly stopped moving and looked at the view in front of her with a wistful smile .

Then she murmured.

"I wish I could talk to my crush as easily as I can talk to you ."

She froze , not wanting to look back at him as his heart broke . But he put it in the back of his mind . He was good at pushing back his pain .

"Chat..."

"Well...um... , he may be holding your heart , but at least I have our wonder _fur_ conversations..."

She let out a breath of relief at his teasing tone . It slightly hurt that she believed him so easily but everybody did , so ...it was normal.

But she still seemed a bit worried .

"...besides you'll come around eventually , m'lady."

He said with a wink .

She laughed before turning back to her previous view .

"Yeah right ! You flirt (ignore the pain , Ignore! ) no offence , but you don't even compare to someone as amazing as him ."

Her eyes softened and she let out a sigh , a small blush dusting her cheek .

Me-OUCH! Okay, that was painful but he could do this . Just keep talking or she'll get suspicious. Oh ,And make a pun .

"Oh ! And who is the 'amazing guy' who _cat_ -ptured my lady's heart ?"

"I'm looking at him "

She snapped out of her haze and covered her mouth with her hands before turning towards him with wide, panicked eyes . But he had already followed her view to see ...

A billboard.

A billboard promoting Gabriel Argeste's new fashion line .

A billboard that that had His face smiling right at him almost as if He was mocking Himself .

.

.

 _'What_?'

"What?..."

He whispered.

Ladybug was looking at him with a worried and confused look and he quickly recovered . She liked him , but no, she didn't . So she was a fan of his without even knowing it . Yeah that must be it . This was just her bantering with him .

' _Then why was she looking so worried?'_

"Chat , I ..."

"Oh I see . So my lady is a fan of the Argeste kid , huh ? The dude's probably a loser in real life ."

He didn't expect her outraged reaction ,...like someone just insulted her mom.

"A LOSER? Chat , just because he's a model doesn't mean that's all he is . I like him , not his ad pictures and he's a _GREAT_ guy , especially compared to someone like _YOU_! ."

Ladybug rubbed her temple in frustration before stomping off , leaving him gaping at where she was standing , a part of him feeling flattered at the praise but mostly just confused .

He was a great guy compared to ... _Himself_? ...

Ladybug likes him , but she doesn't like ... _him_?

That adorable look on her face was for him ?...but not him?

She liked him as a model ? ...but not as a superhero?

He didn't know how long he stood there before staggering to the edge of the roof towards the image .

Why?

He looked at the image of him smiling back with a childish cuteness but mischievous eyes to promote the stylish clothes for children. He remembered that shoot . He had tripped that morning and had a bruise that was aching like crazy but he bore it to do the shoot cause his dad was supposed to be there .

His dad wasn't there .

Did ladybug know the story behind the picture she was staring at with so much ...love? No! Impossible ...adoration ? ...yeah...that's gotta be it .

He looked down at the street below him before falling , the cleared his head enough to leap to the next building and make it home .

And there he was .

He stayed up and finished his homework , knowing he could still wake up in time for school .

He fell back on his bed as Plagg returned from his visit to the cheese storage . If Plagg said anything, he didn't hear it . He just...couldn't understand .

'..he's a GREAT guy , especially compared to YOU! '

'He is me , I'm him . What does that even _Mean_ ?

The only difference is he's rich and famous and I'm ...Unknown . And he _knows_ ladybug isn't that...shallow . She's not Chloe or somebody like her.

"What does she mean?"

"You know you're not exactly the same person when you put on the mask , right kid ?"

He turned his head on the pillow to see Plagg siting up and staring back at him .

"I'm me . Who else could I be ? I'm even _more_ myself when I'm transformed ."

Plagg's raised one eye at him .

...Oh... _OH_!

His eyes widened as he realised that what he said wasn't true .

Adrien Argeste was not Chat Noir .

At least not to everyone who knows them .

Adrien Argeste was the quiet , always smiling , cute , rich , famous boy who everyone loves . It was part of his job that everyone loved him . He was perfect . Athletic ( thanks to fencing , fitness training , diet ) , smart ( thanks to homeschooling , strict, expensive teachers , isolation ) , well-mannered ( thanks to a job of pleasing people ) and obedient ( cause he doesn't want to lose the little freedom he had ).

Chat noir was loud , reckless , made stupid jokes and puns he learned from years of being stuck in his house with no contact with normal kids , silly , happy...Chat noir was _free_.

The only person who even remotely knew how Adrien really was is Nino ...and he knew Nino was _Not_ Ladybug .

Adrien Argeste is Chat noir .

But nobody really knows Adrien. Why would they when they could see the perfect boy he had to be .

.

.

.

Then what ? ...

Should he act like Adrien around Ladybug ? Can he ?

She makes his heart burst . She makes him feel free , ...happy and maybe , if he controlled his mouth and act more mature , she might like him back .

No.

She wouldn't .

Chat noir was freedom ,...sweet , sweet freedom with no rules governing his every move . He could do good and not get reprimanded for ' _making a scene'._

Heck ! He was the scene !

Plus , he liked what he had with ladybug . He liked the banter and the flirting and the partnership . He liked being needed for himself and not for his family name .

He loved her .

She made him happy .

Why should he change that?

Even if she liked him back , it would mean nothing if he was acting out a role like she was some ...stranger .

No.

She liked the quiet , perfect boy . Well , she was perfect , so it made sense .

But she did like the loser , though not in the same way . And that little bit of affection was so much more wonderful and real than whatever he might get if he became ...' _a great guy , ...especially compared to someone like him._ '

He had more than enough girls who ' _loved_ ' him . It wasn't their fault . They didn't know him . He makes sure of that . It's part of his job after all . He needs to maintain his image for his image to sell .

But Chat noir 's image was his to choose and he likes it .

Ladybug doesn't hate it either ...and that's enough.

Besides , this closes the desire to find out her identity . Man , she would be so disappointed to find out her ' _amazing , great guy'_ was really her ' _flirty , silly kitty_ ' and whoever she was , they probably wouldn't be able to hang out like normal friends if she already knew him .

Unless they do and he just doesn't know it . Then , there wouldn't be any difference in anything but their partnership . And he liked their partnership .

He loved her . She didn't ...nothings changed .

He chuckled .

 _Oh well!_ He liked being her silly kitty. At least he can trust her when he's like that . Maybe , one day , she'll come around. He always knew it was a long shot anyway . This doesn't change anything except the fact that he no longer wants to share identities either .

"You know , Plagg . Sometimes I really hate this bad luck."

"Nobody likes bad luck , kid." Plagg seemed disgruntled , as if expecting something else.

"...yeah ...but I'm grateful for the good that you gave me with it ."

Plagg seemed surprised but grinned into the pillow and Adrien closed his eyes and finally fell into a slumber.

.

.

.

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _I am starting too many fics but hey ! Since I wrote the chap . I thought I might as well post it ._**

 ** _warning : I don't have a very concrete plot for this fic beyond snips at this point , so ...its probably just gonna stay a one shot . Hope you like it ._**

 ** _please review ._**


	2. Chapter 2

He knew when he woke up that it would be a bad day.

Call it a gut feeling. Maybe his powers helped him sense the bad luck that decided to attack him .

Morning, He woke up long before the break of dawn thanks to a distressed Nathalie ( her eyes were wider than normal and her speech had a nervous hitch to it ) calling him to inform him that she had forgotten to update his schedule and the early morning photoshoot was moved up to that morning .

If he knew that , he wouldn't have spend half the night catching up on his homework and musing about the girl he loved liking _him , but not him_.

Anyway...

A few hours of preparation later , because an Argeste product must be perfect . Yes , that is what he was referred to as ...a ' _product_ '. Okay , they meant the ad pictures but he was the one they were tinkering with .

He had smiled and smirked and gazed at the sunrise. Then it was time for school ,...which was normally yippee ! But the day wasn't done with him yet .

The pictures turned out well but that didn't help when he was caught being drowsy in class by the teacher who had it out for him .

" Just because you're some famous brat with a rich father doesn't mean you can dose off in My class . Now get up and solve the equation on the board ."

Of course , the teacher only got more angry when he correctly answered the equation. Turns out he hadn't actually taught the class how to do the equation yet , he had just showed the question.

Hey ! What was he supposed to do ? Not answer.

Nino laughed and a few kids giggled .

' _Yes , my dear classmates , give him another stupid reason to hate me . There can never be enough stupid reasons for that.'_

"...do you only come to class to show off , ..."

' _No , I come to see my friend, my classmates and mostly to get out my house._ '

"...perhaps a trip to the principal's office will wake you up . Some people have jobs to do ."

' _Yeah , like me . I was doing it this morning before coming here to learn stuff I already know . Pretty sure I earn more than you too .'_

Of course, he didn't say anything out loud , just gave a nervous, guilty grin with worried eyes before looking downcast and taking his bag . Once he was out of the class , he straightened back up and hopped over to the principal's office .

"I hate the guy , he skinks ."a muffled voice stated from his shirt pocket .

He smiled .

"Not as much as you , Plagg ."

"Not my fault you doesn't appreciate the fine aroma of my darling camembert...oh , and I'm running out ."

"You'll get more later "

Anyone who see him wouldn't assume anything was wrong , just a normal boy strutting across the halls , his lips slightly parting , maybe whistling a tune .

.

The principal let him go , already knowing that teacher had it out for him and after meeting his dad once before , had _no_ intention of meeting him _Ever_ again. Afternoon was pretty good, he and Nino discussed their plans for friday evening , the one evening he was completely free in return for a packed Saturday .

Then that annoying _piece of ._..teaching staff told Natalie , who came to pick me up for some reason that he had slept in class and humiliated him in front of the class and his father should be informed.

He had told Natalie the truth in the car and he could see the brief guilt flashed across her face , knowing she was the one responsible for the faulty schedule . Sure , he's waken up early before but he always makes sure to get sleep before those mornings .

Oh yeah ! And it turns out the reason she came to pick him up was , yay ! Daddy's home ! And unlike the numerous times he's there , he decided ' _yes , I will choose today to inquire about my son unlike any other day , including his birthday '_

"Did anything happen in school today ?"

And Natalie , being the ever efficient, proficient, honest assistant told him about the teacher who chased after her , giving him some apologetic gazes which he had firmly ignored in exchange for his father's loving gaze which basically said ' _why do I have to waste my time with this boy ?'_

"..I see . Don't you know to sleep early before early morning shoots by now ?"

He could practically feel Natalie 's nervousness radiating off her . He could tell him the truth , that she forgot to update his schedule . He could be honest and throw her under the bus like she did to him .

But what's the point ? Not like it made any difference to his father and she deals with his dad a lot more than he does .

"I lost track of time doing homework , father."

He heard the breath of relief she let out as his father's eyes narrowed.

"..well then . I am going to a conference and will be gone a few weeks . I will inform Nathalie of your punishment for such carelessness "

Adrien just sighed and went to his room . A few minutes later , Nathalie came to inform him of his punishment.

Wanna guess? Here's a clue ...No more Friday arcade and pizza with Nino .

Last but not least ... An akuma showed up and when he snuck out to fight it , the love of his life , you know , the one who likes him , but doesn't like him because he wasn't a great guy , especially compared to himself , was acting like she did the first few times they fought together .

In other words , she ignored him when he tried to well, _chat_ with her , told him what to do and promptly ignored him the rest of the time .

He had a bad day and his partner was angry with him for talking bad ( was it bad ? He doesn't remember ) about her crush , which would've made him feel guilty ( which is what she was probably aiming for ) if it weren't for the fact that she was crushing on him ,...but _not him_.

Yeah , so far , he's sleep-deprived and has been insulted , betrayed ,reprimanded and punished for doing nothing wrong .

So he doesn't try as hard as he normally does .

Why should he ? His dad and his reputation don't control this part of his life in any way and the only person who cares _Doesn't_ care .

 _Nobody cares , so why should he ?_

The akuma is defeated . It takes longer than normal because of their lack of communication , but he doesn't let it get to him . He ran , jumped , protected , attacked and distracted just like he had to , when he had to . He did his part and once the object was broken , he left , not wanting to stay just to be brushed past by the girl he loved .

As usual he underestimated his lady's kindness .

"Chat ?...are you okay ?"

He froze .

Why did she follow him? She never follows him . She runs away from him .

She cares .

His heart was suddenly filled with happiness and he turned around to face her with a wide smile . The first real one he had all day.

"Of course , my lady. Your concern has chased away all my..."

Ladybug groaned .

"Oh , shut up ! ..."

He froze , not knowing what to do . Why ? He didn't start the conversation, she did . He left her alone . He knew he couldn't handle her being upset with him today . She followed him . So why ? _Why_?

"...I can't believe I actually worried about someone like you ."

And then shaking her head , she left .

He didn't move .

He didn't understand.

His transformation wore off leaving Adrien Argeste standing on top of a random building staring at the distance .

"...Cheeeeeese ..."

He snapped out his confusion and looked down to see Plagg lying flat on his back groaning. He knelt down and picked up the kwami before placing him inside his shirt pocket where he kept the cheese . He sat down and stared into the distance waiting for Plagg to finish recharging so they could go home .

Home ? ...house where he lived ?

Yeah , back to the place he lived .

"Buck up , kid . She'll get back to normal soon enough."

"...what does she mean by ' _someone like me '_?...I just don't ...I don't get it..."

It was a bad day .

It was almost over .

Tomorrow would be better.

He would go home , do his homework ( he can't be hurt by something he hates ) , attend his piano class , see some comedy shows if he had time left over and avoid ladybug during patrol ( he could see better than her at night anyway ).

It was just a bad day .

Everything will be fine .

He walked away , his posture perfect , his eyes dead .

' _ **Oh my dear boy ! The perfect prince , ...'**_

He stopped moving .

A jerk in his shirt caused in to snap out of his momentary haze and look up to see a black butterfly flying towards him .

 _Oh no!_

' _ **always so used ...! Nobody cares , not really ...'**_

He stumbled back , eyes wide with fear . Not this , not him . They had _just_ fought an akuma . How could ...

' _ **Let me help you . I will give you the power ...'**_

 _No , no, no, no, NO !_

He sprinted down the street away from the akuma , refusing to think , to feel . Pushing one thought and only one thought to the front of his mind.

Escape .

' ** _Don't you want to stop pretending ..._** '

His lips parted , a desperate cry escaping his mouth . No , yes, No ! , yes , NO , NO , NO Why ? Why ? _WHY_ wouldn't that thing leave him Alone ?

' ** _you don't want to be alone , do you , child ?...'_**

"LADYBUG! "

' ** _You won't ever have to cry again ...'_**

His body moved on autopilot, his mind screaming at him to ignore his heart . His battered heart which was desperate to escape , to say yes , to do anything to stop the pain .

The memories of the day passed though his mind . Ladybug's part excluded . The job , the teacher , the jokes , the disappointment, the punishment , all the pain that slowly crippled his resistance . Soon , other memories and hidden truths began pouring into his mind as well ! his mother leaving , his father's silence , his own failure to be what he should be ...

Nobody wanted him . Nobody cared . Not for him . Not really .

"LADYBUG ! HELP !"

"Chat?..."

And at the sound of her voice , his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground clutching his head and curling into a ball , desperate , _Desperate_ to not let her see his face , not lose the only true assurance that her words were real and not fake as so many others were .

But then the akuma reached him . Every tear he cried , every blade he grazed across his skin without drawing blood , every smile he gave when all he wanted to do was cry ...every reason behind every one of them shot through his mind .

All the pain , disappointment, anger , helplessness , uselessness , shame , hopelessness , disgust , resignation , loneliness ...

 _ **'...Don't you wish you could just stop feeling ..."**_

A scream tore through his lungs .

"STOOOOPPPPPP!..."

.

.

.

A.N:-

It was supposed to be a one shot but I was in a bad mood and wrote ...this .

Hoped You liked it:)

Please review .


	3. Chapter 3

That stupid cat .

Okay . To be fair , ladybug was the one who had kinda ignored him during the battle and frankly , the way he was so ...resigned and...quiet was ... _disturbing_ , to say the least .

But he did his job , so it didn't matter .

At least , that's what she kept telling herself .

Eventually, she gave up trying to find a conversation starter while still being angry with him . She had decided to let him stew and talk to him after the fight .

He was fine ...there was no way what she said last night would affect him too badly . He probably doesn't even know why she's angry with him .

Unless it wasn't her and something else happened , something personal and she was just making it worse .

But it'll be fine , they'll talk after the battle and it will be fine .

Right? ...right!

She caught the object and broke it , as she raised her yo-yo to purify , she heard a yell and when she turned around, a little girl was on the street and Chat noir was gone .

He _never_ leaves before her .

Never.

 _'No_.'

The butterfly was all but forgotten as she shot off to where her partner was last , looking everywhere for him and when she caught a glimpse of his golden hair shining on a nearby rooftop , she chased after him .

He was so quiet , so ...unlike Him . The fact that something may have happened to him , that she could have , in any way , added to that was... _terrifying_ .

As she landed behind him , she noticed his slumped shoulders , his lowered head . Chat noir wasn't like that . Chat noir always stood tall and confident . Even when they had fought the akuma , he smirked ( it wasn't as teasing as usual ) and stood firm ( it wasn't as taunting as usual ) .

"Chat ?...are you okay ?"

She saw him freeze before straightening up . A few seconds passed before he turned around to face her , eyes bright , grin wide , seeming completely satisfied.

"Of course , my lady. Your concern has chased away all my..."

The earlier irritation returned completely replacing all her worry . She was so stupid to worry about _him_ .

"Oh , shut up ! ..."

She turned away , not believing that she let the akuma escape just to comfort her silly partner . He was fine . _Heck_ ! He probably pretended to be upset just to get her to ...to...what ? ...forgive him ? He didn't really do anything wrong , but ...whatever ! ...she was wrong . He was fine .

"...I can't believe I actually worried about someone like you ."

She left . She had a dark butterfly to find and she needed to recharge . She didn't have time for his jokes .

If she wasn't so focused on her job , she would have noticed how strange it was for him to not reply to her or try to stop her .

So now , after recharging , she was roaming the rooftops of Paris looking for a dark butterfly , already forgiven her partner but not willing to let him get away easy with talking bad about the sweet perfect boy who helped her up that morning when she was tripped by Chloe and _Smiled_ at her and ...

"LADYBUG!"

...wait ! What ?

She skid to a stop and rounded back to the source of the scream . Fear struck her heart and and guilt crowded her mind .

' _Chat!'_

She launched across rooftops , desperate to get to him . What could have happened to make him scream like that ? Him ! Chat _freaking_ noir ! And the way he called for her , _Her_ ! it meant only one thing .

The akuma .

It found him .

She was reckless and he was paying for it. She snapped at him for her personal feelings . She forgot to purity the akuma and he was Screaming for it .

He was Not fine and she just... she didn't ...

With one strong leap , she shot down to the street to see ...nothing .

No raging monster screaming for their miraculouses , no cat-boy screaming for her , just a crowd of people which seemed sparse and...

"LADYBUG! HELP!"

She shot into the thinning crowd and saw a glimpse of messy , tossed blond hair , a flash of green eyes wide with fear and overflowing with tears , his breathing ragged as he ran recklessly , pushing past people in a desperate hurry to escape ...

Escape what ?

"Chat?..."

She saw the green dots widen before his eyes slammed shut and he fell to his knees , his hands clutching at his hair as he bowed his head to the ground , a desperate scream tearing past his lips .

"STOOOOPPPPPP!..."

She ran towards him , reaching out for him , ignoring the rapidly dispersing crowd and that's when she saw it .

The akuma .

The vile creature that had caused so much pain and was landing on his head .

It was hurting Her Chat !

Without a second thought , she launched for him and grabbed the butterfly , for a second , a brief second , she felt pain , loneliness , shame, fear, disgust , self-loathing before she ripped it away from him and tossed it , refusing to dwell in those feelings , before grabbing her compact and purifying it .

She turned back to see Chat. Or at least , she's 90 present sure it's him . Messy blond hair , lowered head and hunched shoulders which were still shaking ever so lightly , as he laid on the street , knees and hand-clutched head to the ground .

He looked ... _broken_ .

 _'Is this what the akuma does to people ? Break them and use them ? '_

" ...chat ?"

She saw him stiffen . But he never raised his head , opting to stay in his closed in position .

"...la...lady...bug . I ...I'm ...I'm fi...fine ..."

His voice was thick and shattered . None of that flirty smoothness that he normally showed , Did show not more than a few minutes ago . She could tell that he was forcing himself to talk . To reassure her.

"...you...you can ...go...I ...secret iden...identity ...I...just go ...just ...please ...just go... _please_..."

Every syllable was a bullet to her heart .

After she had just brushed him off , he was _still_ protecting _her_.

She hadn't imagined it . He was hurting and she had pushed him away and hurt him more . Enough to be targeted by an akuma . Since she had freed the original victim , he had shown enough negative emotion to attract the darkness .

And she had _hurt_ him . She had _helped_ that vile creature .

"Chat , I ..."

"...Just ... Go !... _please_ !..."

Her heart broke at the desperate plea . But he wasn't transformed and she couldn't leave him alone . Not like this . Even if the crowd was gone . Even if he did have enough strength to resist the akuma.

"..cha..."

"Are you deaf , you stupid brat ? He said to Beat It !"

Her eyes widened as she caught sight of to tiny green eyes glare at her with what can only be described as Hatred from within his white shirt .

His kwami .

He wasn't alone .

She took two steps back as the tiny green cat eyes disappeared , but she didn't leave . How could she ? She had to help , she ...

A black blur shot out of his bowed body and collided with her head on .

"Ow !.."

She stumbled back before opening her eyes to her a tiny cat sprite (his kwami?) stare straight at her with narrowed hateful eyes before growling .

"I said ' **_Beat It_**!'..."

She immediately went on defensive . She didn't know how to handle a quiet ( broken , hurt ...) Chat , but she could talk to his kwami . She Could do ... something!

"I can't just leave him .."

The kwami grinned . An harsh , taunting , _Evil_ grin , so different from his host's . So different her own kwami's.

"And what are you gonna do? Huh ? Are you _actually_ worried about _**someone like him**_ ? ..."

She flinched as the kwami threw her own words back at her with the most mocking tone it could muster , seemingly forcing his voice down to make sure Chat ( who she noticed was crawling away towards a nearby ally ,...crawling away from _her_ ) couldn't hear him .

"...you can't help him . He won't believe a single word you say right now , so Go Away and Let . Him . Be ! The last thing he wants or needs is your _useless_ pity ..."

She felt like crying but her stubbornness held it at bay .

"...but ..."

The kwami's eyes narrowed.

"If you care about the boy even a quarter of how much you _claim_ to care about your partner , you will leave ... _ **NOW !**_ "

She watched helplessly and stumbled backwards before looking at the boy crumbled on the ground shaking , refusing to raise his head , refusing to scream , because _She_ was there .

She was _still hurting him._

"Please help him ."

She whispered to the kwami ...and then she ran , hating every step she took , but knowing he didn't want her there , knowing she couldn't help him right then . So she swallowed her guilt ( her pride , her shame ...) and ...

She ran.

.

.

.

 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _A big THANK YOU ! to all my reviewers . I was sooo happy to read them . Hope you liked the continuation . That's about all I had written , so no gaurentee on when the next chap will be up ._**

 ** _Please review._**


	4. Chapter 4

He couldn't breathe .

' _My baby boy ...'_

His heart was pounding , his blood rushed to his head , his mind _Wouldn't_ Calm Down and He couldn't , He _Couldn't_ ...

He couldn't _Breathe_.

 _'...Oh !... oh! look ...look at you...I love ...lo...love you , m...my darling ...darling b...baby ... b ...bo...boy ...'_

A gentle smile , loving eyes ...how long since he's heard that love? . How long he since he's felt such ...joy? .

"Adrien!"

It hurt ! ...It hurt ! It Hurt ! _**IT HURT!**_

 _'...yo... You ...in... insolent ... chi ...child ! ...Do... Do not ...embaress the ...the fam... family ... name ...'_

Cold eyes , firm lips , the voice of a owner commanding his property .

"Fight it !"

No ! Please ! ...I'm sorry , I'm sorry , I'll be better , I'll work harder , I'm sorry , sorry , sorry ...

 _'Yo...you ...have to... co...come , Ad..Adrien ...Wha ...what's the... po ...point ...o ...of ...being ...fri ...friends ...with a ...a mo ...model if ... If I ca ...can't ...show you ...you o ...off ...'_

A friend...or so he thought . No . A trophy to show off ,...that's all he was good for . Of course , he was ...useless , _useless_ , useless ...

"Adrien ! Breathe ! She's gone ! ..."

What's the point ? What's the point ? Friends , friends, friends, friends , just wanted , just wanted frien...

 _'I ...I'm ...sor ...sorry .. to in ...inform ...you bu ...but ...you... your mo ...mother ...is go ...gone ... gone ...gone ...'_

Gone , left , left us , left me , gone , gone , gone , why stay ? _Why stay ?_ No reason to stay !...

"...Open your eyes ! ...Adrien ! LOOK AT ME !.."

Who ? Who ? Look at who ? All Gone , all gone , all left , left me , left alone , alone , alone ...

"ADRIEN! "

...no ...

"ADRIEN! CONTROL IT ! "

...not alone .

It hurt to breathe , ...but ...the first breath was the hardest .

' _Wha ...what ...you ...think ...yo ... you're ...do ... doing ? ... ? ... ? ...you ...you'r ...you're Chlo ... Chloe's ... frie ... friend ...huh ... huh ...of ... of cou... course ...'_

It hurt to look , ... but ...the first light was the sharpest .

The first light that passed through his eyes , eyes which he had pressed so tightly shut that opening them felt like peeling his skin open ...but the light ...it _Burned_...

"That's it kid . Come on ..."

'.. _you... wh ...why ... pian ...perfec ... Agreste ...'_

...the pain shattered the visions , the memories and replaced them with the blurry sight of a black blob and green eyes looking at ...him.

Not alone... He was _**Not . Alone .**_

But the pain remained .

It hurt to speak , ...but the first word was the worst , and the second ...and the third ... It hurt , oh ! It hurt ...

"..p... Plagg ?..."

"It's okay , it's okay . It's just the stupid dark magic fighting with your own dark magic , okay ! You can speak , your not insane , you'll be o..."

"...I'm sorry ..."

Eyes fell shut , tears falling and falling and falling and why ? Why was he so _Weak_ ? Why couldn't he do Anything right ?

" ...sorry ...sorry ..."

Breathe .

"...sor..."

"SHUT UP !"

His throat closed up instantly . Fear clutched at his heart . Messed it up , messed it all up , and now he'll be alone again , alone...

".. STOP APOLOGISING , YOU IDIOT ! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE ! YOU ARE MY KITTEN AND ONCE YOU STOP FREAKING OUT , WE ARE GOING GET THIS STUPID NEGATIVE ENERGY OUT OF YOU AND ..."

"What ?..."

Adrien blinked at few times , his mind was clearing up ( ... _NOT GOING ANYWHERE ...MY KITTEN ...WE_ ...) and his thoughts were coming into focus just as the tears cleared away to to give him an image of his annoying kwami blinking right back at him , looking ...surprised.

"Adrien?..."

He felt himself raise an eyebrow . He could feel it , the 'negative energy ' . It felt like a part of his mind that kept taunting him , telling him to give up .

He's felt like this before .

He didn't give in then when his life felt like a prison with no hope of love , when the light in his house disappeared leaving a broken man and a desperate child , he sure as heck isn't going to give in to a stupid power-maniac and his manipulative tricks .

' _Not real '_ he kept reminding himself , screaming it in his head loud enough to push away the cruel taunts ' _not true_ ' . He was loved . He has a friend. He has a Future and No One is going to control him like a puppet ...again.

His dad was one thing but a crazy , power-hungry butterfly dude does not have _Any_ right over him .

His body slowly regained control over itself but his mouth was on autopilot ( which was okay ,cause it was plagg and he never had to act around plagg ) .

"That _is_ my name ."

Plagg tackled him , or to be more precise , rushed at his neck and began nuzzling against it .

Adrien smiled . It was a small smile and it felt _Wrong_ and It _Hurt_ ! but it was _Real_ and so he kept it .

"You Idiot ! I recharged while you were running . Transform ! _Now_ ! "

A sense of unease filled him , but it was pale compared to the pull of pain that rested in the back of his head where he had pushed it away to . He left it there and focused on the friend he had right in front of him .

"Is it safe ?"

"Some of hawkmoth's corruption , his darkness was attracted to you , but ...but you subdued it ."

Adrien slowly raised to his feet not catching the change in the tone of his kwami's voice at the last two words .

"It's still there ...I ...I can ... I can _feel_ it ..."

"I know . But trust me , once we transform , I'll take care of it until ladybug purifies it ."

Adrien tested his legs and deciding they were strong enough , let go of the walls he had been using as support and ...

"...but..."

"Transform . Now !"

He let out a sigh and steeled his mind , pushing the darkness to the back of his mind , before taking a deep breath .

"Alright Plagg ! Claws ..."

* _bzz_ *

Seriously ?! I mean , like ... _Seriously_!? Adrien grabbed his cellphone from his pant pocket .

"Ignore it ! Transform !"

"But it's from Natalie. If I don't pick up , she'll tell dad ."

Plagg groaned in exasperation .

"Fine ! But do not ,...I Repeat ! Do Not Listen To Any Nonsense from Her . Just because you managed to subdue the corruption doesn't mean it's gone . Ignore Everthing !"

Adrien accepted the call with trepidation . With the way his day was going ( the dark little conner of his mind pushed forward the numerous annoyances and hurts over the past week , the rest of his mind screamed that he dealt with things like that before and he _Can_ deal with this now) , he decided to prepare for the worst and answered the call .

"Hello ! Na..."

/ _Your father wants to talk to you at home now . Come home immediately and meet him in his office or you will be pulled out of public school effective tomorrow_ / *click*

Adrien blinked .

Plagg swore .

Adrien closed his eyes shut and pointedly ignored the voice that began to _Scream_ ! and kept his mouth closed to keep his already sore throat from following . The little joy that he feels from his father's wish to see him was , unlike usual , completely overwhelmed from the simple _Fact_ that it is almost never ( read: Never ) a good thing and will more likely than not ( Much , _Much_ More Likely ) end with him fighting back tears or screams or _Both_ .

"...kid?...Adrien?..."

Slowly , Adrien took a deep breath , accepting that this was probably Not going to be a father-son ...anything , throwing away any hope of a receiving even a hint of affection from the man who's love he has tried so hard to be worthy of having , ...remembering his friends , classmates , Nino , plagg ...ladybug .

(' _Someone_ _li.._. _like_ ... _yo_...'

No.

' _why_ _do_ _I_ _even_ _bot_... _bothe_...'

 **NO !**

' _what_ _would_ _I_ _do_ _without_ _you_ , _kitty_ ? '

 _'We're_ _partners_ '

' _I_ _need_ _you_ '

.

.

.

There we go.)

And then he opened his eyes , his mind clear and the once overwhelming hurt just an annoying itch in the back of his brain .

"Let's get this over with ! Plagg ! ... _Claws_ _out_ !"

If he had paid a little more attention, he would have seen the normally frowning kwami's face morph into a prideful grin .

But no . Right then he needed to Focus !

He's got a _chat_ with his boss to get through.

.

.

.

.

It's been over an hour .

That's all she knows about the time.

Over an hour ago , Marinette had abandoned her partner in an alley , leaving him in hidden tears and muffled screams as she ran away because _she_ was hurting him .

Now she was curled into herself on the chaise , her room was locked , her cheeks coated with dry tears , small whimpers left her lips as her heart filled with self-loathing.

How could She have _Hurt_ Him ?

'.. _la...lady...bug . I ...I'm ...I'm fi...fine ...'_

He was her Partner , her Friend . He has taken hits for her and smiled through pain for her . He as seen her be selfish, insecure , reckless and has Helped her to be better , stopped her from running away or going too far .

He has _Died_ for her !

...And she repays him by throwing a hissy fit over a silly statement which he probably meant as a joke and then avoiding him and then practically chasing after him to Hurt him All Over Again .

"Marinette . It's okay . You purifi...wha..."

But Marinette didn't hear her kwami's words . They were nothing but static . She didn't see the kwami falter in mid-air as a tiny gasp left it's lips . Her mind was too busy replaying her uselessness again and again

 _'...you...you can ...go...I ...secret iden...identity ...I...just go ...just ...please ...just go...please..'_

If it was her in that state , he wouldn't have left . She knows he would have said ... _Something_ , like _Always_ and _Helped_ her . But she couldn't help , she didn't know what to do . And try as she might , she could not think of a single moment where _he_ had intentionally caused _her_ pain , Wanted her to suffer. She could not imagine him being unreachable in any manner during any of their arguments.

"Mari ...Mari! Something ...somethings wrong ...Marinette !"

...AND SHE HURT HIM !

Is this the first time ? Has she done this before too ? Was it something else in his life that hurt him ? Could he have been spared the screams if she had smiled instead of frowned when he fell into battle next to her ? If she had just spoken to him the previous night instead of shouting at him and leaving before he could do or say anything ?

Did she really help that vile creature almost take her partner away from her ?

" **MARINETTE !"**

Marinette responded to the urgency in her kwami's voice and the slightly painful pull of her hair and raised her head to see panicking blue eyes . Marinette's mind cleared a bit at the sight .

"Tikki , wha ...?..."

"It's Cha ...Chat noir !..."

...

No .

Marinette jumped up from from her closed off position on her chaise , ignoring her body's protest to the sudden movement and grabbed her kwami in her hands . Tikki kept talking , pushing away the worry at letting Marinette know at the fragile mental state she was in right then ...

"...he's losing control . Oh Mari ! You have to find him ..."

...because right then they had no choice .

"...Hawkmoth ..."

With that Marinette stopped listening and launched towards her balcony with a single-minded resolve .

"SPOTS ON !"

She was _Not_ going to fail him again .

.

.

.

 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _So , I know I am terribly slow at updating and I honestly apologise. I just don't have time for writing much stories these days . I Really appreciate all the feedback in this story . There's a good chance I'm going to refine and put this story under a different title cause I've got a plot stuck in my head and since this was supposed to be a one shot , it's not a very good buildup . But I highly doubt I'll get to that anytime this year ...or whenever . Still , this story is going to continue and I hope you guys will like where I take it . I know this chap is pretty dull . Next chap , the plot part starts developing ._**

 ** _Please review_** .( **_Seriously, anything you wanna say about the fic , I wanna hear ._** )


	5. Chapter 5

_He couldn't breathe ._

Adrien, the ever dutiful son had rushed home as requested ( ordered ) and had went to his father's office as instructed ( commanded ) .

...and then he had _froze_ .

Standing tall and firm in front of him was his father ...and on his shoulder was ...

"Nice to finally meet you , Adrien "

...a kwami .

 _He Couldn't breathe ._

The hint of darkness at the back of his mind began to scream again but he ignored it . He _Had_ to ...his dad could be a hero like him or ...or... that might not even be his kwami .

"Hello , son."

Wide green eyes finally snapped away from the kwami and focused back on ...Him , his dad , his Father . He couldn't be , he _Couldn't_ ...

"...I understand this may be ...a bit of a surprise ..."

He felt tears fall down his cheeks . He had just washed his face before coming up here but now his heart began to burn again as the cold , harsh Fact stared him right in the face , his only anchor to sanity was the comforting feeling of plagg pushing against him under his shirt .

"No...no ...no ...NO ! you can't be ...YOU CAN'T..."

" **SILENCE** !"

On pure instinct , his mouth slammed shut , his back raised straight and feet pulled into attention .

What a well trained little boy he was.

"Adrien ...you did not know , did you ?..."

Adrien didn't , couldn't say a word . His mouth opened to give out a chocked sob and he took a step back , his eyes beginning to flood with tears as the kwami spoke .

"I ...I told you, master . The miraculous has a very strong glamour and..."

"Silence !..."

Gabriel Argeste turned to face his son (servant ) once again with a frown .

"...it seems I have made a mistake . I had assumed you had rejected my akuma because you had recognised my voice ...nonetheless , this is still for the best , Noroo , wings out ..."

Adrien watched as the kwami was sucked into a butterfly shaped pin on his chest and he turned to run but the door slammed shut , a group of white butterflies ( the purified akuma ) were against each door and through the cracks hundreds of white butterflies swarmed into the room and shot right past him . He turned around to see them surround his father .

No , no , no , no ... _NO_!... _please no_...

And when they flew away ,...there was Hawkmoth . His father . The Enemy .

"...I have never directly akumatized someone before ..."

Adrien's eyes widened as Hawkmoth raised his hand and a swirl of black magic (cataclysm?) formed on his hand before Hawkmoth's words registered and he stumbled back until his back pressed against the closed door .

"No ...no...don't ,...father , _Please_ !..."

Adrien thought he saw a flicker of hesitation pass Hawkmoth... _his father's_ eyes but the next second it was gone and he just came closer .

"...it's for the best Adrien. I cannot trust you to keep this secret . You are far too naive..."

"NAIVE ?! You ...YOU'RE HURTING PEOPLE . MANIPULATING THEIR WEAKNESS ...FOR ...FOR WHAT ?...WHY ? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS ?!..."

Hawkmoth stood right in front of him and his hands searched blindly behind him for the doorknob . Hawkmoth raised his hand and ...

"...ultimate power does not come without a prize , child . "

...found it .

Adrien twisted the doorknob and spun so that the door he had opened knocked right into Hawkmoth's ( his **_father's_** ) raised hand and with a twist he ran out of the room ...only to face a wall of white butterflies and like the fool he was ,...he hesitated .

And the next thing he knows , a hand presses against his neck and ...

It BURNED !

He felt it . A single concentrated burst of _Hurt_ crawling through his mind and ...his ring , **_NO!_**

With a spin , he pushed his father away with a blind shove and dove into the wall of butterflies.

He breathed in and out , focused on his goal and _Ran_ .

Pushing away the pain wouldn't help . He _Knew that!_ It would only come back stronger if he left it to fester but he _Could Not Let Hawkmoth Get His Ring !_

He shot right through the swarm of butterflies and ran to the open side window down the hall and slammed against the rim of the window pane before raising his hand , fingers already pulling off the best thing that has ever happened to him .

"Plagg ! Go ..."

But Plagg shot towards the ring in his hand and pushed it right back down his finger and looked him right in the eyes .

" _Plaggdon't ..._."

"CLAWS OUT !"

 ** _No_**!

The darkness had almost overwhelmed him , but as the magic covered him , his mind became clear enough for his body to obey the only conscious instruction it was capable of implementing over the overpowering desire to _Give in_.

.

Escape .

His body moved , launching right out the window and towards anywhere away from ( Hawkmoth , _his father , the enemy , his enemy , his Father .._..) and his mind ...and his mind ..., his mind began to **Break** .

' _Look at you ! So pathetic! Your own father did this to you . Your own family Wanted you to suffer . Of course ! Of course ! Maybe then , you could actually be good enough for someone . Maybe if you be a good son and give in , he would actually care about you . After all ,you're obviously worthless right now but you can be better ! Be loved !...just ... give in ...and you can be the perfect prince Every . one . wants . you . to . be ...'_

The scream that ripped through his throat and into the Parisian air was only the first of many to come .

.

.

.

.

.

Ladybug ran faster than she ever had before , her heart pounded in her chest as the magic covered her . She didn't even need to open her compact to track him .

She could _feel him Scream ._

It was like her heart was being tugged in a certain direction telling her ' _hurry ! he needs you ! You partner needs you ! hurry ! **Hurry !**...'_

And then she heard the faint end of a scream .

She didn't ,... _couldn't_ think , only act . Her hands reached out towards the sound though she still couldn't see him, and her heart pushed her even harder at the sound . Her feet barely touched the floor before pushing off and she pushed harder , ran faster , sprinting across the skyline of the city of love .

Another scream which was so much closer had struck her even harder before choaking down into silence.

She leaped over a roof ...and in the far distance , she saw him ... she saw him fall .

Her feet did not stop moving .

She saw him land on to the roof of some building , it's surface was flat but his body had tumbled and skidded across it as he fell , before his hand reached up , and then the next and he _Crawled_ .

' _Almost there_ ' she thought ' _I'm almost there !'_ not knowing what had happened or how she could help but knowing she _Needed_ to get to him .

He tried to stand , his feet shaking before giving away as another scream shot past his lips , his hands clutched his head and he fell to he knees just as she landed on the same roof and without a single pause , launched towards him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders , falling to her knees right beside him .

It burned .

 _He_ burned .

His breath was coming out in choaking gasps , he was hyperventilating, shaking like a leaf , his eyes were wide open but unseeing and overflowing with tears , his pupils were slits , small whimpers and screams escaped his mouth and he _Burned_ . Not like fire ...no ,...like _fear_ .

"Chat ?! Kitten ! Minou !?..."

She recognised the feeling , it was similar to what she felt whenever she had grabbed an akuma but far , _Far_ more potent .

But she purified it , didn't she ? He wasn't like this when she left him . Did Hawkmoth find him in that one second the akuma had touched him ? ...

She didn't know what to do ... but she had to do something , _Anything_ .

A whine left his lips and she held him tighter , burying her face in the crook of his neck and ...

...he froze .

It was just for a second , but for that one second , he ...stopped shuddering ...and the next thing she knows , his arms wrap around her , his claw dig into her back as he presses closer to her , a desperate whine escaping his lips as he buries himself into her shoulder , his breath washing over her neck as he clutches to her for dear life and she can feel the burn _Covering_ her , a sick feeling trying to drag her in ...but ...no .

No ! She could do this . She has to help . She has to _Save_ him .

She digs her fingers into his back ...and focuses on her energy sending it to her fingertips purifying tiny tendrils of magic .

A broken scream passed through her partner's lips and washed across her shoulder .

Her teeth clenched at the sound . It Wasn't Enough . She Wasn't Enough . He _needed_ her and she was _useless_ _Again_ !

' _No_.'

Tears began to form in her eyes and she tried harder to push out her magic but she _couldn't_ do it and what she could do barely made any difference .

' _No_ ! '

Was this it ? Will she fail him again ? Leave him to fight whatever has happened to him Alone ?...Again ?!

" ** _NO_**!"

With a groan of frustration , ladybug held her partner as closely as she could and tilted her head pressing her lips firmly over his neck in an attempt to ensure he knew she was there , that she was _Trying_ .

She felt the burn under her lips , felt it more clearly than through their suits and this time ...this time , she pulled .

' _How could a pathetic girl like you ever be a hero ?'_

 _'What kind of person would hurt her partner ?'_

 _'He wouldn't be like this if you were any ...'_

 **NO**!

Ladybug didn't see how Chat noir had arched his neck in response to her lips , she didn't see anything . Her mind was focused on pulling in the darkness into herself and surrounding it with her magic , purifying it .

She felt his claws tighten their grip on her , but before she could repeat the process , Chat pulled away with a wide-mouthed gasp and for one second , she saw him .

His eyes were bloodshot even through the green lens , his pupils were still slits but seemed to be mindlessly searching for something but seeing nothing , his lips were parted and his cheek were stained with tears ,...and then he came closer , eyes still wide open and unseeing ...

...and covered her lips with his own .

She pressed back without a second thought , closing her eyes and focusing on pulling out the darkness .

It was not a kiss .

It was desperation , ...both his and hers .

... _ **And . It . Hurt !**_

She could not silence the taunting voices of darkness as fast as she absorbed them . Every insecurity , every mistake , every lie , every disappointment , failure , deceit , shame , guilt ...every feeling of _Hurt_ seemed to dig into her heart and try to bury into her soul ...And It **_Hurt ! So ! Much !_**

But she refused , ... _ **Refused**_ to stop .

How long had her partner fought against this darkness before she arrived ? Now it was her job to help him and she _Was Not_ going to give in . She pushed it away for later and focused on pulling in the darkness which Did not want to leave the Black Cat of Misfortune.

' _Why even bother ? It's just a waste of time and you know it . You're probably making it worse anyway ...'_

No ! Focus ! Focus on ...focus on him .

Focus on his burn getting cooler , on his body shaking less , on the loosening of the vice-like grip his claws had had on her back ... , on the way his eyes slowly gained focus before fluttering shut , on the way he tilted his head just so ... the way his lips , once open with desperate gasps , now pressed against her with a warmth had fuelled her light , _helped_ her cleanse more of the disease she took from him .

He had always helped her and she Would help him .

Then the warmth slowly moved away and his grip loosened .

A shuddering gasp and then...

"My lady ?..."

...she collapsed .

Her arms that had held him so tightly fell limp , her lips pulled into a bland smile and her half-lidded eyes took in his confused face which was no longer twisted in pain ...and then ...she ...fell .

" **LADYBUG!"**

Her body fell asleep in his arms but her mind was awake . She wasn't strong enough . She knew she had taken in more darkness than she had the strength to purify and she had reached her limit . And now that she knew he was okay , she was ... _tired_ .

The darkness she had pushed to the back of her mind attacked with a vengeance and she focused on not giving in ...and then a warm hand held the back of her head and warmth returned to her lips which easily gave way with a whimper ...and all the darkness ...just ...left .

It took a few seconds for her to realise what had happened .

' _NO_!'

She heard her earring let out a beep but concentrated all her energy to _Open . Her . Eyes_ ...and she succeeded and through half-lidded eyes , ... she saw him .

Chat's eyes were shut tight and narrowed as if he was in deep concentration , his lips were pulled back into a snarl , his teeth were clenched shut , and his hands held her in a tight grip ... then his teeth parted to release a short breathe and his eyes softened , ...another breathe ...and his face relaxed , his mouth closed...another breathe ...and his eyes slowly opened ...another breathe ...

...and he looked at her ...and smiled.

Her parted lips pulled to a tiny smile and her eyes fluttered shut .

That was him .

He was okay .

She was okay .

And with relief filling her heart , she peacefully fell asleep in his arms promptly forgetting the beeping of her miraculous as it counted down to 2 spots .

.

.

.

 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS !_**

 ** _Hope you liked it ._**

 ** _Please review ._**


	6. Chapter 6

_2 spots left ._

Her chest rose and fell with every breath . Two sharp-tipped fingers felt for her pulse .

She was breathing .

Her pulse was steady .

Adri... _Chat_ let out a breath and pulled ladybug closer into his arms burying her head into the crook of his neck , not wanting to risk accidentally seeing her face and focused on regaining full strength to his legs .

 _A day ago ,_ Adrien would have been wracked with doubt and frustration trying to figure out what to do .

He got up on shaky feet , and made to one of the darker parts of the roof near a wall that was close enough that he should be able to reach it within one minute .

 _A day ago ,_ he would have imagined that maybe , ... _Maybe_ this was a chance to get closer to the love of his life , a step closer to them having a beautiful future together either as ' _until death do us part_ ' or as ' _best friends forever ' ._

He kept walking , his eyes fell on his ring which was ...still fully charged ?... Whatever . It was getting dark and the shadows in that part of the building should hid her face if ... **NO**! ... _When_ she wakes up .

But ... _a day ago ,_ he wasn't the son of the _power-hungry man_ who was _hunting_ them and _using_ the _people they protect_ as _tools_ to do so .

But isn't that what all people were to him ? _Tools_ ...either _useful_ or _useless_ .

 _Eveyone_ ...including his Own _Son_ .

* _beep_ *

 _1 spot left ._

No .

Adrien ... _Chat noir_ had no doubts about what needed to be done .

It was the ' _how to do it ?_ ' part that eluded him ... But first things first , he needed to get ladybug safe ... and right then , ' Safe ' wasn't with him .

' _You're such a useless little ... Shut up . Hurting your own partne..._ _ **SHUT THE F*CK UP!.**_ _...'_

No .

Not with him .

He's hurt her enough.

With a few steps , he reached the conner where the shadows hid her best and laid her gently on the floor , tilting her head towards the wall and reached to brush her hair back when...

* _beep*_

Chat slammed his eyes shut as a tiny shimmer of pink light appeared at the periphery of his vision and practically launched himself backwards falling on his behind before scrapping away on all fours in a desperate attempt to get away from the now no-longer spotted heroine .

"Chat noir ..."

He froze .

 _'That wasn't ladybug '_

No . The voice was ...kind . It was gentle and understanding but tired ...so tired . ' _Ladybug's kwami ..._ ' he realised ' _What was her name again ? ... Tikki'_

"...whatever happened...it wasn't your fault ."

A choked sob left his lips as he lowered his head to the ground , eyes shut to make sure he doesn't accidentally turn around and see her , his night-vision would easily make out her form even if he had turned her head towards the wall and away from him .

The kind words caught him off guard . He had fought against taunts and truths , accusations and realisations , ...not ...not ... How could she say that ? **How** ? After what he has done ? After what his weakness had cost her ?

"Is ..."

His throat hurt but he needed to know .

"...is she ..."

"She's fine , Chat noir ...there is no more dark magic with her ...not anymore . She'll wake up in a few minutes ..."

Chat pushed himself from his on all-fours position and went into a sitting position , keeping his back to them and wiped his tears .

"Do... do you need something? Cheese or..."

"Don't worry . Ladybug carries some extra cookies with her . I'll have that once I find her in this darkness ."

"Um...sorry ?..."

"Don't be . I know you're just trying to protect her ..ah hah !"

The sound of quiet crunching came from behind him bringing his focus to his stomach . Come to think of it , he had skipped tea . He can't really go back to his house because his dad ,...Hawkmoth . Hawkmoth , his father . ' _Adrien , I am your father ' , 'nooooo...'_ Heh ! That's kinda funny . Only , it's not funny at all and if his father is the big bad , then he has to fight him . Wow ! That's going to be great . Maybe his dad will give up peacefully if he knew . Or maybe he'll try to infect him with poisonous dark magic and make him into a 100% mindless servant or suffer mind-break cause what else is he good for ? _Oh Wait !_ He already tried that ! So , then what ? Does he go back home ? Does he even have a home anymore ? what is he going to do ? He needs to do something . He has to ...

Two warm arms wrap around his neck from behind and a soft but firm body of warmth fall against his back .

His vision was blurry . He had to blink away his tears . He was shaking . When did he start shaking ? So weak . _Why was he so Pathetically weak ?_...

"Minou ..."

He breath in a short burst of air . She wasn't angry , or at least she didn't sound angry .

 _'Maybe ,no...Just Maybe ,_ _ **No**_ _!'_

"...I'm okay ..."

His hands , ...Claws slowly crept up and gently separated her hands and moved them to the front of his face .

Red ...with a single black spot .

She was transformed.

She was okay .

"I need to go ."

The next second he pushed her hands away and pushed up from the ground, ignoring how her body fell away from his because he was a _liability_ and he had to _get away_ .

He can't risk hurting her ... _again._

"What ? Chat ?!..."

He couldn't resist turning back for one final glance at his beloved lady who was getting back up on her feet . His eyes greedily took in her pursed lips , her bright blue eyes and the surprise and concern in them _( no hate_ ! his searching heart screamed , _there was no hate !_ ) , her hair parted into her signature pigtails and her slim but strong body that had held him and anchored him in the ocean of darkness that had threatened to drown him . He turned to face her as he reached the ledge .

She stared .

He smiled .

"You should get some rest , my lady ...Thank you ..."

Her eyes widened .

His tilted his head and gave a wink and a 2-fingered salut .

"...and Goodbye ."

And he fell backwards into the darkness below .

" **CHAT ?!**..."

.

.

.

Ladybug ran towards the ledge but she was still tired . She had never felt so tired when she was transformed before .

But it was past evening and the shadows had began to come and there was no Way she could find him like this .

When she had woke up , Tikki had told her that she only had enough energy for 5 minutes of transformation , but she had seen him .

His shoulders were hunched and his entire body was shaking . He wasn't screaming but she could hear shuddering gasps and she _Knew_ that he had stayed for her.

She knew he didn't see her .

Tikki needed to recharge before they could talk about what had happened so she had planned to reassure him that she was okay , make sure he was okay and separate for the night , then deal with whatever had happened the next day with a clear head .

Then he had pushed her away .

 _'I need to go '_

And when she had gotten up to follow him , he had looked at her like... like he was seeing her for the first time ...or the last .

 _'... Thank you ...and Goodbye '_

 _*beep*_

She had to go .

But she Would see him again and then they Would talk .

But for now , she needed to go rest so she could help her partner properly the next time they meet .

Because , no matter how much her paranoid mind psycho-analysed what had just happened .

This Could Not Be Their Goodbye .

.

.

Chat shot across the rooftops .

His father was ... _Hawkmoth_ . Hawkmoth was _his father_.This much he knew , ... _He Knew_! ...but ...it just Wouldn't Sink In ! It just didn't seem ...real . He landed in an alley way and climbed through a nearby window . He listened around and made sure there was only one other person in the building and released his transformation. The darkness in his head began to buzz louder but he shut it down . He couldn't risk ...risk ...

"Kid ! Don't ..."

Without another word , he walked past the frantic black kwami and pushed open the door to the storeroom he had snuck into and walked straight to the living room where a small , old man sat with a cup of tea in his hands . The guardian of the miraculous stones , Master Fu , put his cup of tea down in front of the place where he was kneeing and looked up with wise eyes at the young model who marched across to stand in front of him .

"Welcome , Chat noir ..."

Adrien stood firm as grasped his ring with his left hand ...

"... **Adrien** ! **Stop** !..."

...and pulled it off before tossing it in front of the guardian .

Tears began to form and a chocking gasp escaped his lips as he felt his ring-less hand .

"Chat noir ! What ..."

"My father is Hawkmoth ."

Adrien collapsed to his knees , head bowed and eyes wide as tears began to escape him again , his mouth opened and closed as he tried to breathe in as much air as he could , because ... _His father_ was _Hawkmoth_ .

Telling someone finally made it real in his head .

He was the son of his enemy .

He can't be Chat noir anymore because His _Father_ tried to akumatize him and _dark magic_ was still _inside_ him .

The second he goes back home , he's done for .

And he can't _Not_ go back either because His Face is Freaking Everywhere and He'll be caught in 10 minutes flat.

It's over .

"... _my father is hawkmoth_..."

It's all over .

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 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _To my dear readers ,I hope you liked the chapter ._**

 ** _Please review ._**


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